Spotlight: Xbox Live, Perfection, and Giving Up Games For Lent

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Enjoying this fancy new version of Bitmob? It makes compiling Spotlights infinitely easier, and the improved article editor will hopefully encourage more people than ever to contribute and eventually end up in a Community Spotlight.

Patrick Bonk is going to miss original Xbox support on Live, but he isn't sitting around moping about the loss of service. Tons of great DLC is still ripe for the picking and he's not going to let the opportunity pass him by.

Tom Heistuman hopes to encourage you to donate to Bitmob with his funny comic. He was in no way asked or paid to do this; he longs to see new -- likely costly -- changes to the site.

Chase Koeneke, inspired by a fairly depressing short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, breaks down why pursuing and obtaining the perfect video game won't actually make any of us happy.

Finally, Rachel Jagielski reflects on Lents past and her bad experiences during the year she gave up video games for 40 days and 40 nights.

Xbox LIVE on Classic Xbox No More
By Patrick Bonk
In light of the news that Microsoft is discontinuing their support of original Xbox games on Live, Patrick decided to go back and collect the DLC that is soon to be lost when the company pulls the plug. You don't want to miss out on an entire mountain's worth of extra content in Amped 2, do you?

 

My Comic Strip Asks: What Happens With Your Donations
By Tom Heistuman
Tom wants to see Bitmob grow, but he knows we aren't running a flashy, money-grabbing campaign over here. He hopes to inspire you to donate through his chuckle-inducing comic strip. Shoe does whip the interns.... I may be silenced by the time this Spotlight goes live.


Perfection In Game (and Why We Don't Want It)
By Chase Koeneke
If absolute perfection could be obtained in a game, would you ever play another? Inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Birth-Mark," Chase explores the concept of the ideal game and why gamers might not be content with the outcome.


Lenten Gaming or Pocahontas is a Really Bad Game
By Rachel Jagielski
Lent is a time when many Christians reflect on the death of Jesus and, for Catholics, give up something for the next 40 days. Once Rachel sacrificed something I'd never have the strength to give up: video games.

 
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Comments (8)
Me_square
February 24, 2010

Amped 2 baby!  Love seeing that box art up!  I may not be able to play online anymore, but the game will still live on in my 360!

Demian_-_bitmobbio
February 24, 2010

I was a little surprised the Amped series died. I bet after the success of Skate, someone's working on a more realistic snowboard game....

Waahhninja
February 24, 2010
I made the spotlight on my first entry?! Thanks, Jasmine. I hope you can feel the beaming rays of my smile from here. I kinda don't know what to do with myself now!
Waahhninja
February 24, 2010
I'd like to add that I really liked Patrick calling attention to xbox live moving beyond the original xbox. While it'll be a sad April 15th I know it means better things are on the way.
Me_and_luke
February 25, 2010

@Demian: I'm more surprised that the SSX series died.  Those were some extremely entertaining games, and I enjoyed the over-the-top gameplay and style of that over the likes of Amped.

37893_1338936035999_1309080061_30825631_6290042_n
February 25, 2010

Thanks Jasmine. I'm glad you enjoyed my article enough to put it in the spotlight.

Me_square
February 25, 2010

@Demian: They really switched gears w/ Amped 3.  While they 'Amped' up the story and the game's look-and-feel, they regressed with the game play and ditched the multiplayer.  It wasn't long after MS disbanded their Salt Lake studios.  I still long for a true next-gen snowboarding sim that is on par with Amped 2.  Shawn White may be an Olympic champ, but his game needs a gold-medal rework.  I do still believe that someday, someone will crack the formula.

 @Tom: Thx!

Waahhninja
March 02, 2010

Not sure what's wrong but clicking the link to my story comes up with nothing. Accessing my story through my profile page works though. What's happening?

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